His appointment is the latest in a line of senior personnel changes at Infiniti EMEA that have also seen the creation of a new Europe-based product director for the first time, reflecting Infiniti's focus on growing the brand in the European region. Infiniti begins production for the first time in Europe in 2015.

Mr Norman is a finance, IT and strategy specialist who has worked in the automotive industry for 19 years, 10 of them with the Volkswagen Group including six with Audi in roles that have included establishing that brand in new market structures. Most recently, he has been chief financial officer for the Volkswagen Group in Saudi Arabia as well as finance director for the SAIC-Volkswagen sales company in China.

At Infiniti EMEA, Norman will be based in Rolle, Switzerland and report to Fintan Knight, Infiniti vice president.

‘Brendan joins Infiniti after having responsibility for nine business units in four vastly different countries,’ said Mr Knight. ‘He has a very good understanding of what it takes to build a team and make a business succeed quickly. His skills and his experience will be invaluable to Infiniti in the busy years ahead.’